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SCIENCE
OF LEARNING
www.deansforimpact.org
About
he purpose of The Science of Learning is to summarize the existing research from cognitive
science related to how students learn, and connect this research to its practical implications
for teaching and learning. This document is intended to serve as a resource to teacher-educators,
new teachers, and anyone in the education profession who is interested in our best scientific
understanding of how learning takes place.
This document identifies six key questions about learning that should be relevant to nearly every
educator. Deans for Impact believes that, as part of their preparation, every teacher-candidate
should grapple with and be able to answer the questions in The Science of Learning. Their
answers should be informed and guided by the existing scientific consensus around basic cognitive
principles.And all educators, including new teachers, should be able to connect these principles to
their practical implications for the classroom (or wherever teaching and learning take place).
The Science of Learning was developed by member deans of Deans for Impact in close
collaboration with Dan Willingham, a cognitive scientist at the University of Virginia,
and Paul Bruno, a former middle-school science teacher. We are greatly indebted to the reviewers
who provided thoughtful feedback and comments on early drafts, including cognitive scientists,
teacher-educators, practicing teachers, and many others.
The Science of Learning does not encompass everything that new teachers should know or be able
to do, but we believe it is part of an important and evidence-based core of what educators
should know about learning. Because our scientific understanding is ever evolving, we expect to
periodically revise The Science of Learning to reflect new insights into cognition and learning. We
hope that teachers, teacher-educators, and others will conduct additional research and gather
evidence related to the translation of these scientific principles to practice.
The present version of this document may be cited as:
Deans for Impact (2015). The Science of Learning. Austin, TX: Deans for Impact.
About
ounded in 2015, Deans for Impact is a national nonprofit organization representing leaders in
educator preparation who are committed to transforming educator preparation and elevating
the teaching profession. The organization is guided by four key principles:
Data-informed improvement;
Common outcome measures;
Empirical validation of effectiveness; and
Transparency and accountability for results.
www.deansforimpact.org
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
FOR THE CLASSROOM
COGNITIVE
PRINCIPLES
Students learn new ideas by
reference to ideas they already
know.1
Teachers use analogies because they map a new idea onto one that
students already know. But analogies are effective only if teachers elaborate
on them, and direct student attention to the crucial similarities between
existing knowledge and what is to be learned.3
1
2
Teachers often use multiple modalities to convey an idea; for example, they
will speak while showing a graphic. If teachers take care to ensure that the
two types of information complement one another such as showing an
animation while describing it aloud learning is enhanced. But if the two
sources of information are split such as speaking aloud with different text
displayed visually attention is divided and learning is impaired.6
COGNITIVE
PRINCIPLES
Information is often
withdrawn from memory just
as it went in. We usually want
students to remember what
information means and why
it is important, so they should
think about meaning when they
encounter to-be-remembered
material.10
Teachers can assign students tasks that require explanation (e.g., answering
Teachers can space practice over time, with content being reviewed across
weeks or months, to help students remember that content over the longterm.14
10
12
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PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
FOR THE CLASSROOM
COGNITIVE
PRINCIPLES
Each subject area has some
set of facts that, if committed
to long-term memory, aids
problem-solving by freeing
working memory resources and
illuminating contexts in which
existing knowledge and skills
can be applied. The size and
content of this set varies by
subject matter.17
Teachers will need to teach different sets of facts at different ages. For
example, the most obvious (and most thoroughly studied) sets of facts are
math facts and letter-sound pairings in early elementary grades. For math,
memory is much more reliable than calculation. Math facts (e.g., 8 x 6 = ?)
are embedded in other topics (e.g., long division). A child who stops to
calculate may make an error or lose track of the larger problem.18
The advantages of learning to read by phonics are well established.19
17
COGNITIVE
PRINCIPLES
The transfer of knowledge
or skills to a novel problem
requires both knowledge of the
problems context and a deep
understanding of the problems
underlying structure.22
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24
26
25
27
23
COGNITIVE
PRINCIPLES
Beliefs about intelligence are
important predictors of student
behavior in school. 28
Teachers should know that students are more motivated if they believe that
intelligence and ability can be improved through hard work.29
Self-determined motivation (a
consequence of values or pure
interest) leads to better longterm outcomes than controlled
motivation (a consequence
of reward/punishment or
perceptions of self-worth).32
Teachers can engage students in tasks that will allow them to reliably
Teachers can reassure students that doubts about belonging are common
32
28
COGNITIVE
PRINCIPLES
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